Yesterday, while Joel was at the concert with his parents, I walked up to the small grocery store that we have around the corner from our house to get a few things. I picked up an orange-cranberry scone and a bagel for us to have this morning for breakfast, too. Unfortunately, my scone only lasted until about 8:30 when I went into the kitchen for a snack. Oh well! But it gave me an excuse to try these scones out from The Food Librarian. The only problem was that I didn't have any buttermilk in the house. I looked up substitutes for buttermilk online and came up with yogurt. I had 3 containers of yogurt in the fridge, and I thought that the coffee flavored one might pair nicely with the chocolate chips, so that was what I used. Just like The Food Librarian, I also made drop scones and ended up with 18 of them. They were so light and delicious. Even Joel, who claims to not like chocolate chips, liked these and ate more than one!

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, blend together the buttermilk (yogurt), egg yolk, and vanilla. Cut up the cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Add lemon zest now, if using. Using your hands, rub in the butter until the mixture is sandy or grainy in texture. Mix in the chocolate chips. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and mix until the dough comes together. If you want triangular scones, dump the dough onto a floured work surface, roll, and cut into 6 triangles. If you want drop scones, use a spoon (or your hands) to put dough onto a lined or greased baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with milk and sprinkle sugar (I used sugar in the raw) over the top. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.